Category Archives: World Opinion

INTERNATIONAL: ARTS & CRAFTS / MUSIC / RECORDS : 3-time Grammy Award Winner Ricky Kej releases ‘Indian National Anthem Rendition with the Largest 100-piece British Orchestra from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) in London, UK’

Kej and the Indian mission in London called on members of the diaspora to share the one-minute-long video as they mark the milestone.

On the eve of India’s 77th Independence Day, three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej on Monday released a rendition of the country’s National Anthem recorded with the largest orchestra ever at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London.

The recording of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ features a 100-piece British orchestra from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and was recorded a few days ago in time for India’s Independence Day on Tuesday.

Kej and the Indian mission in London called on members of the diaspora to share the one-minute-long video as they mark the milestone.

“A few days ago, I conducted a 100-piece British orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, to perform India’s National Anthem at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, London,” Kej tweeted.

“This is the largest orchestra ever to record India’s National Anthem, and it is spectacular! The ‘Jaya He’ at the end gave me goosebumps. Felt great as an Indian composer. I am sharing this historic recording with every one of you this Independence Day – use it, share it, watch it, but with respect. It is yours now. Jai Hind,” he said.

The RPO is recognised as the UK’s “most in-demand” orchestra, founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1946 – a year before India’s independence.

Its stated mission is to place orchestral music at the heart of contemporary society and, through collaboration with creative partners, foster deeper engagement with communities to ensure that live orchestral music is accessible to as inclusive and diverse an audience as possible.

“Ricky Kej, three-time Grammy Award winner, always innovative, always at the cutting edge of doing something new in the world of music. This year, we congratulate and thank Ricky for putting together a unique project – celebrating India on its Independence Day with a recording and a performance of India’s National Anthem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London; the largest-ever orchestra to record the Indian National Anthem and put out as a tribute to India,” said Vikram Doraiswami, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK.

The High Commission in London will mark the occasion with a customary flag-hoisting ceremony and its own rendition of the National Anthem on Tuesday morning.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIOAL – ASIA: SPORTS / FIELD HOCKEY: India Secures 4-3 Victory over Malaysia to Clinch Asian Champions Trophy for the 4th time.

Jugraj Singh (9th minute), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (45th), Gurjant Singh (45th) and Akashdeep Singh (56th) were the goal scores for India.

  India fought back from two goals down to eke out a 4-3 win over a spirited Malaysia in a thrilling final to claim their fourth Asian Champions Trophy title at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Saturday.

Jugraj Singh (9th minute), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (45th), Gurjant Singh (45th) and Akashdeep Singh (56th) were the goal scores for India.

For Malaysia, Abu Kamal Azrai (14th), Razie Rahim (18th) and Muhamad Aminudin (28th) found the back of the net.

It is India’s record fourth title, making it the most successful team in the event.

India had earlier thrashed Malaysia 5-0 in the round-robin league stage.

Malaysia were aggressive in the first half as the Indians found it difficult to restrict their opponents.

India converted their first penalty in the ninth minute with Jugraj scoring with a fierce flick to the right of the Malaysian goalie. The Indians got into their groove as the match progressed and played full-press hockey after a sluggish start. But Malaysia didn’t sit back and continued to test the Indian defence.

Their efforts bore fruit in the 14th minute when Azari found the back of the net after being fed by Azuan Hasan from the right flank. Seconds from the first quarter, India secured back-to-back penalty corners but wasted both the chances.

Malaysia kept up the tempo in the second quarter and earned consecutive penalty corners in the 18th minute, the second of which was converted by Rahim as the ball went in after getting a deflection from rusher Amit Rohidas’ stick.

Malaysia secured a penalty corner for an unnecessary stick check by Jugraj in the 23rd minute but the effort went wide.

Malaysia got another penalty corner in the 28th minute and this time Aminudin made no mistake to hand his side a 3-1 lead at half-time.

A couple of minutes after the the change of ends, India earned a penalty corner but failed to utilise the opportunity. The home team asked for a referral for another set piece, which was turned down by the TV referee. India worked well to win another penalty corner in the 36th, but Jugraj shot wide.

Sensing urgency, India switched to possession-based play. But the Malaysian defenders did well to intercept at the right time and keep the Indian attackers at bay.

Malaysia earned another penalty corner in the 43rd minute but India defended stoutly.

The Indians turned the match on its head in a span of a minute, pumping in two goals to level the scores 3-3.

While India skipper Harmanpreet scored from a penalty stroke in the 45th minute, seconds later Gurjant found the back of the net from field play to make the scoreline 3-3.

India secured a penalty corner six minutes from the final hooter, but Harmanpreet’s flick was saved by the opposition goalkeeper.

India kept up the pressure and earned another penalty corner soon, but Harmanpreet’s effort went wide.

Akashdeep scored the winner for India with a slap stick from top of the ‘D’ after receiving a pass from Mandeep Singh.

The Indians pressed hard in the final few minutes of the match, drawing two fine saves from the Malaysian goalkeeper.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL : EUROPE: Punjab Police Officer Gurjat Singh Maler Hosts Tricolour on Mount Elbrus – the Roof of Europe, to Commemorate 76 years of India’s Independence

Commemorating 76 years of Independence, Gurjot Singh Kaler, a senior police officer in Punjab, scaled and unfurled the tricolour on the top of Mount Elbrus — the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe.

Kaler, a professionally-trained mountaineer, was adjudged the best mountaineer during his Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand.

His recent feat is noteworthy considering that the Caucasus’ tallest mountain, Mount Elbrus, is 5,642 metres (18,510 feet) above sea level.

There were four others in Kaler’s team, which reached the top of Mount Elbrus on August 11 at 7 a.m. after battling heavy snowstorms, thunderstorms and atmospheric lightning.

Mount Elbrus is covered in snow through out around and is home to 22 glaciers that feed three rivers — Baksan, Malka and Kuban. Elbrus is part of the Caucasus mountain range, near the Georgian border in the south of Russia.

The Caucasus technically sits in Asia and Europe, although most geographers place it in Europe. It’s a mountain range that spans two continents.

Committed to the spirit of combating climate change and global warming, the mission of Mount Elbrus was dedicated by Kaler to exhort the world community to preserve the environment and create awareness about depleting forest reserves across the planet and melting of glaciers.

“It took five days to successfully do the summit after acclimatisation hikes to Mount Cheget and Pastukhov Rocks. The weather was very turbulent on the day of the summit and there was a lot of lightning and thunderstorms which made the climb very difficult,” Kaler told IANS over phone.

At one point, it looked impossible but the sheer willpower, perseverance and determination served him in good stead throughout the adventurous expedition.

“It is only in tough circumstances that we can test the real toughness of mind,” he said.

Kaler has become the first Punjab Police officer to scale Mount Elbrus. Earlier, he had successfully climbed the summit of the highest mountain in the African Continent — Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

The daredevil officer had also performed a skydive from 15,000 feet during the Covid pandemic to serve as a heartfelt tribute of bravery and courage to the corona warriors who had sacrificed their lives during the pandemic.

He’s currently handling the charge of AIG (Excise and Taxation) and was awarded with the Chief Minister’s Medal for outstanding devotion to duty in January 2023. He was also conferred with the Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Raj Yuva Puraskar by the government of Punjab in March 2023 for his fight against drug abuse in Punjab and for promoting the culture of sports.

Kaler feels that his efforts in terms of climbing Mount Ebrus will go a long way in awakening the world community to join hands for combating climate change.

He admits that global warming and climate change is a grim reality of “our times and every region on earth is impacted by our actions”.

“Even the recent ghastly floods in Punjab and Himachal can be attributed to lack of ecological balance and disregard to the Mother Earth. Therefore, it’s very important to understand the precarious situation through which the entire humanity is passing through right now and take concerted actions before its too late.

“Rather, the truth is that we are already quite late in combating global climate change and if we continue to ignore the warnings of Mother Nature, a day will come when everything will be simply lost forever,” Kaler added.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: GLOBAL NETWORK OF LAW ENFORCEMENT: CBI Academy joins Interpol Global Academy Network

The network supports academic collaboration among law enforcement training institutions across the world.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Academy on Tuesday joined the Interpol Global Academy Network at a virtual event. The network supports academic collaboration among law enforcement training institutions across the world.

The event was organised by the agency and the Singapore-based Interpol Global Complex for Innovation. The Letter of Acceptance was signed by Mohit Gupta, Deputy Inspector-General (Training), CBI Academy, and his counterpart at Interpol, Glenn Martindale, Director (capacity building & training directorate).

The signing ceremony was held subsequent to the negotiations with Interpol in consultation with the Ministries of Home and External Affairs and the Department of Personnel and Training.

The CBI Academy had become the 10th member of Interpol Global Academy Network. According to the agency, over the years, it has emerged as a major police institution of the country and South Asia.

Since 2005, it has imparted training to over 50,000 police officers, including around 1,432 foreign nationals from SAARC nations, Africa, South East Asia, Central Asia and West-Asia.

Several programmes have been conducted in collaboration with foreign agencies such as U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, French Embassy, National Cyber Crime Unit and National Crime Agency (United Kingdom), Interpol and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canada), the CBI said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: INDIA RECORDS: U.S. Lawmakers Introduce resolution to declare August 15 as ‘National Day of Celebration’

Introduced by Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar, the resolution seeks to declare August 15, India’s Independence Day as the ‘National Day of Celebration of the World’s Two Largest Democracies’.

Led by Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar, a group of U.S. lawmakers have introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to declare India’s Independence Day as the National Day of Celebration of the World’s Two Largest Democracies.

The resolution expresses the belief that the strong partnership between the United States and India, rooted in shared democratic values, will continue to advance global democracy and foster peace, stability, and prosperity for all nations.

Introduced by Mr. Thanedar and co-sponsored by Congressman Buddy Carter and Brad Sharman, the resolution seeks to declare August 15, India’s Independence Day as the ‘National Day of Celebration’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the United States on June 22, anchored the United States and India in a new level of trust and mutual understanding based on common interests and shared commitments to freedom, democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, it said.

Americans with Indian heritage enhance public life in the United States as government officials, military personnel, and law enforcement officers who diligently uphold the principles of the U.S. Constitution and contribute to the enriching diversity of the nation, the resolution said.

It is proper and desirable to celebrate with the Indian people, and to reaffirm the democratic principles on which the two nations were born, it said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: PHARMACEUTICALS: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: India has started Manufacturing 38 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in past 18 months that were previously being Import Reliant: Mandaviya

Mansukh Mandaviya said that the impetus for a self-reliant strategy came in the aftermath of the 2017 border conflict with China in Doklam.

Over the past eighteen months, India has commenced the production of 38 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that were previously reliant on imports, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.

Speaking at the inaugural Healthcare Summit hosted by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Mandaviya said this stride towards self-sufficiency was made possible through the implementation of the production-linked incentive (PLI) initiative within the pharmaceutical sector.

Mandaviya said that the impetus for a self-reliant strategy came in the aftermath of the 2017 border conflict with China in Doklam. This in turn prompted India to reassess its dependence on a single source for 95% of APIs used in the formulation industry, he added.

“In our efforts through the PLI scheme, we tried to eliminate the need for importing 54 APIs from foreign sources and instead promote domestic production for our formulation industry. Today, I’m pleased to announce that within just a year and a half, India has successfully initiated the manufacturing of 38 APIs, illustrating a prime instance of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” the Union health minister said.

The government’s commitment to fostering self-reliance is evident in its allocation of a substantial ₹15,000 crore budget for the pharmaceutical sector under the PLI scheme, according to Mandaviya.

Mandaviya further underscored the Centre’s core objective of enhancing healthcare accessibility and affordability in rural areas.

An essential stride in this direction has been the significant expansion of medical education, with the number of MBBS seats surging from 52,000 to 1,07,000 over the past nine years, he said. Additionally, the government has approved the establishment of 54 new medical colleges, reflecting a dedicated effort to address the shortage of medical professionals, added Mandaviya.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic instigated a comprehensive reevaluation of healthcare strategies, inspiring a fresh approach to planning, redevelopment, and innovation in the sector, said the Union health minister.

He emphasized that India is brimming with intellectual and human resources, and the key lies in recognising the aspirations of its youth and creating avenues for their fulfilment.

The Healthcare Summit, organised by the Centre of Management of Health Services (CMHS) and IIMA Healthcare Alumni Special Interest Group (SIG), showcased two tracks dedicated to pivotal aspects of healthcare innovation.

The summit featured two tracks, each focused on a crucial aspect of healthcare innovation, with panel discussions and competition for healthcare start-ups.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORTS / ARCHERY: Aditi Swami becomes Youngest ever Senior World Champion at 17, India Record best ever Haul of 03 Gold, 01 Bronze

In the individual final, Aditi was up against the Mexican giant-killer, the 16th seed who had knocked out reigning champion Sara Lopez in the pre-quarterfinals.

Aditi Swami on Saturday became the youngest-ever senior world champion at 17 years when she secured India’s first-ever individual title at the World Archery Championships with compound women’s gold here.

Later in the day, Ojas Deotale also became the world champion when he bagged the compound men’s title with a sheer perfect score of 150 as India recorded their best ever finish in the showpiece with four medals — three gold and one bronze.

A calm and composed Deotale, who hails from Nagpur in Maharashtra, defeated Lukasz Przybylski of Poland by one point in a thrilling finish en route to the men’s title. The Olympic discipline recurve archers on the other hand came a cropper, returning empty-handed. Incidentally, both Aditi and Deotale train at the same under academy in Satara under coach Pravin Sawant.

Hailing from Maharashtra’s drought-prone Satara, the teenager shot a near perfect score of 149 out of a possible 150 points to prevail over Andrea Becerra of Mexico by two points.

The class 12 student also became a double world champion in less than two months, having won the Under-18 title in Youth Championships in Limerick, Ireland on July 8.

She is now the first individual world champion in archery from India, across any discipline and gender.

Aditi along with Parneet Kaur and Jyothi Surekha Vennam had secured India’s first ever World Archery Championships gold by winning the compound women’s team final on Friday.

In the individual final, Aditi was up against the Mexican giant-killer, the 16th seed who had knocked out reigning champion Sara Lopez in the pre-quarterfinals.

But Andrea faced a tougher challenge against the Indian sixth seed who started off with a bang, drilling in all her first three arrows closer to the centre (X) to take a 30-29 first round lead.

Aditi was on target in all of her 12 arrows in the first four rounds to extend her lead by three points.

It was only in the final end, she shot one 9 out of the three arrows, but by then she had already sealed India’s second World Championship gold ever.

Aditi earlier defeated the Netherlands’ Sanne De Laat in a tense quarterfinal shoot-off and came up against her idol and senior teammate Jyothi Surekha Vennam in the semifinals, who was hoping upgrade to gold, having won bronze in 2019 and silver in 2021.

But she ousted her ‘idol’ and the most successful Indian compound archer Jyothi 149-145 in an all-Indian semifinal.

Aditi was simply unbeatable on a day where she dropped just four points, including scores of 149 in both her semifinal and final contests, shooting four consecutive ends of 30 in the final.

“Bas India ke pehla liye gold jitna tha, aur kuchh soch dimag mein nahin aaya (I was just focused on winning the first gold for the country),” Aditi told PTI.

“I knew she was very experienced and someone whom I grew up watching and idolising but I just kept my focus on my shooting, rest just fell in place.” “I am very proud, I wanted to hear the 52 seconds of the national anthem to be played at the World Championships.” “This is just the start. We have the Asian Games coming up, I want to win gold for the country and continue to win team gold for the country.” “It is really great that at 17 I could become the world champion. I want to thank all my supporters and everyone in India who helped me become the world champion.” Jyothi however went on to win a bronze medal when she shot a perfect 150 to defeat Ipek Tomruk of Turkey by four points in the third-place playoff.

“It’s not much of disappointment, though. Afterall, I could win a gold — in team event — this time,” Jythi, who now has one gold, four silver and three bronze medals from three editions of the World Archery Championships, said.

Later in the afternoon session, Deotale gave the icing on the cake by becoming the men’s compound world champion.

In an end-to-end shooting, both Deotale and his Polish rival were locked 90-all after three ends (nine arrows).

Deotale continued his perfect 10-hitting spree and made it 150 out of 150 as Przybylski crumbled under pressure and dropped a point to settle for the silver.

“It’s no fluke and a result of strong team work, focus on sports science and 100 per cent faith on our technical team,” Archery Association of India secretary general Pramod Chandurkar told PTI.

With Asian Games in two months’ time, this would give the sport a huge boost, he said.

“We are expecting at least four medals from the Asian Games. It’s a big moment for Indian archery.”

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

source/content: telegraphindia.com / PTI (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORT / SKATING / RECORDS: 18-year-Female Teen Super Skater, holder of several Guinness World Records Shrishti Dharmendra Sharma shatters ‘Limbo Speed Skating Record’

This isn’t the first time that Shrishti has broken a record. She has been doing so since 2015 when she was just 11 years old.

Shrishti Dharmendra Sharma, an 18-year-old super skater from India, has broken her own record for the ‘fastest time to limbo skate over 50 metres’. Shattering her previous record of 7.38 seconds in 2021, she has now achieved this feat in just 6.94 seconds.

Notably, in the sport, a person drives on roller skates underneath an obstacle like a horizontal pole without any form of touch.

According to Guinness World Records’ official website, Shrishti limbo skated under 51 horizontal bars which were placed just 30 cm or 12 inches above the ground – without touching or dislodging any of them.

Additionally, neither her hands nor arms were permitted to touch the floor at any point during the attempt, so she held her legs for the entire duration whilst maintaining the splits position,” it mentioned.

This isn’t the first time that Shrishti has broken a record. She has been doing so since 2015 when she was just 11 years old, noted the website.

As an avid campaigner for the ‘Save a Girl Child’ humanitarian project, she uses her record attempts to promote the organisation. “Every citizen of civilised society should be made aware of the fact that a girl child is as important as a boy child,” she said.

Notably, the first Guinness World Records title Shrishti achieved as an 11-year-old was the ‘lowest limbo skating over 25 metres’. She managed to successfully skate underneath 25 bars placed at a height of 17 cm. To date, no one has been able to break this record, Guinness World Records shared.

Later in 2017, Shrishti elevated the difficulty level and took her talents to an ice rink, achieving the record for the ‘lowest limbo ice skating over 10 metres’ at a height of 17.78 cm. This record, too, hasn’t been toppled to date.

“As Shrishti grew older in age, her body naturally grew bigger in size, meaning it became harder for her to set new records for low limbo skating. However, she didn’t let this stop her from breaking records, and in 2020, she turned her attention to limbo speed skating ,” the website mentioned.

The teen decided to attempt to break the record for the ‘fastest time to limbo skate under 10 bars’. “In 2020, Shrishti successfully broke the record, becoming the first person to break the 2-second barrier, with a time of 1.72 seconds. Amazingly, in 2021, she again broke her record with a time of 1.69 seconds,” it added.

With her latest record, Shrishti has cemented herself as the “queen of limbo skating”.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORT / CRICKET: India beats West Indies by 200 runs in 3rd ODI to Win series 2-1

In response to India’s massive total of 351, West Indies collapsed to 50 for six before being all out for 151 in 35.3 overs.

A clinical India outclassed West Indies by a whopping 200 runs in the third ODI to win the series 2-1 but the lingering questions on the team combination ahead of the World Cup remained in the horizon despite four half-centuries and a top notch bowling effort here on Tuesday, August 1, 2023.

Skipper Rohit Sharma and senior pro Virat Kohli once again opted out to give World Cup hopefuls a fair go but the dominant result isn’t a good enough indication that all boxes have been ticked as the team looks far from settled.

Shubman Gill, who has had a quiet Caribbean sojourn so far, finally found some rhythm with 85 off 92 balls and his opening stand of 143 with an in-form Ishan Kishan (77 off 64 balls) set the platform for a commanding score of 351 for 5 after being put into bat.

Sanju Samson (51 off 41 balls) made a compelling case to be picked as a reserve middle-order batter while skipper Hardik Pandya’s (52-ball-70 not out) five sixes and four boundaries added the finishing flourish on a good batting strip.

The chase was always out of question and Mukesh Kumar’s (3/30 in 7 overs) three-wicket burst with some quality seam bowling in the first Powerplay dashed West Indies’ hopes as they were shot out for 151 in only 35.3 overs.

Gudakesh Motie (39 not out) and Alzarri Joseph (26) delayed the inevitable with a 55-run stand for the ninth wicket.

Shardul Thakur (4/37 in 6.3 overs), Jaydev Unadkat (1/16 in 5 overs) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/25 in 8 overs) were also among the wickets as the series decider turned out to be a lopsided contest.

But there would be questions that will beg answers ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup and subsequent World Cup at home.

For Kishan, the performance in this series will keep him in good stead ahead of Asia Cup but the bigger question remains about his batting position in case KL Rahul isn’t fit for the tourney.

The chances of Rohit Sharma sacrificing his place at the top of the order to accommodate Kishan are slim.

And then if Kishan is asked to bat in the middle-order — No 4 or 5, would it be fair to ask him to perform at that slot straightaway? Samson, one of the contenders for the No. 4 slot in case Shreyas Iyer doesn’t get fit in time for the World Cup, gave a good glimpse of his talent and enthralled his millions of followers on social media.

His innings had four lusty sixes — three off leg-spinner Yannic Cariah, where he got his front-foot out of the way to hit some glorious inside-out shots.

But just as it has been Samson’s bane, he failed to convert his fourth half-century into a big one despite a whole lot of time at his disposal.

Suryakumar Yadav (35) did hit his customary pick-up shot — a six behind square with little width to manoeuvre and also a slashed six off Jayden Seals but once again wasted a golden opportunity to make a mark.

Hardik announced his arrival with a picturesque off-drive and a straight six off Cariah was equally eye-pleasing. Hardik and Suryakumar added 65 runs in 8.1 overs for the fifth wicket but the latter will only have himself to blame or not making most of the opportunities.

Not scoring a fifty against this West Indies attack can surely come back to haunt him in case both Rahul and Shreyas Iyer get fit.

Similarly in bowling department, not picking Yuzvendra Chahal for a single game was slightly baffling as now only nine matches (if they play Asia Cup final) are left before World Cup starts.

With Ravindra Jadeja picking himself as the first spinner, there is no way that Axar Patel can make it to the playing XI.

Similarly, Mukesh Kumar despite his performances at best could be in list of five stand-bys if Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur are picked in the squad of 15.

The fifth seamer has to be a left-armer with variation and Jaydev Unadkat, despite his serious limitations, is likely to be persisted with till the end of World Cup.

Brief scores:

India 351/5 in 50 overs (Ishan Kishan 77, Shubman Gill 85, Sanju Samson 51; Romario Shepherd 2/73).

West Indies 151 all out in 35.3 overs (Alick Athanaze 32; Mukesh Kumar 3/30, Shardul Thakur 4/37).

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORTS / ARCHERY: Sangampreet Singh Bisla, Avneet Kaur clinch individual Gold Medals in Archery, World University Games, Chengdu, China

Bisla got the defeated South African Christian de Klerk 149-147; Avneet prevailed over U.S.A.’s Alyssa Sturgill 144-144 in shoot-off.

Sangampreet Singh Bisla and Avneet Kaur clinched the compound men and women individual gold medals to help India ensure an impressive haul of three gold, one silver and three bronze medals in archery competitions of the World University Games in Chengdu on Monday (July 31).

Bisla got the better of compatriot Aman Saini 147-147 (29-30, 30-30, 30-29, 29-29, 29-29, shoot-off 10*-10, shot closer to the centre) in a tense semifinal contest and raised the bar to defeat South African Christian de Klerk 149-147 (30-30, 29-30, 30-30, 30-28, 30-29) in the final to emerge as the champion.

Saini, who had earlier won a mixed team gold with Pragati and a men’s team bronze with Bisla and Rishabh Yadav, beat Frenchman Victor Bouleau 148-146 (30-29, 29-30, 29-29, 30-30, 30-28) to secure the bronze.

In the women’s competition, Avneet, who had a team silver with Pragati and Purvasha Shende, toppled top-seeded Korean Sua Cho 146-143 (29-27, 27-28, 30-30, 30-29, 30-29) in the last-four and prevailed over U.S.A.’s Alyssa Sturgill 144-144 (28-30, 29-28, 29-29, 29-28, 29-29, shoot-off 10-8) in the title clash.

India had also bagged a bronze medal in recurve women’s team event.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)